


Connections

by Soapbubblesoul



Series: Uncut Ties [4]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Bitter-sweet, Canon, Clothes Sharing, Fluff, Headcanon, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 09:07:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11158701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soapbubblesoul/pseuds/Soapbubblesoul
Summary: Even when oceans separate them, Yixing and Yifan find ways to stay connected at all times, might that be with the help of Skype or through pink sweaters sent via mail.





	Connections

**Author's Note:**

> After forever inspiration struck me again for this universe and I had to write a new installment. While the first three fics were kinda sequential and built on each other, this one is (obviously) set after a huge time jump. Uncut Ties was always meant as a drabble collection for ficlets set in canon-verse, and even though I neglected it for so long, I found myself wanting to write canon Fanxing again. So here we are. This is nothing but silly wishful thinking but I simply couldn't resist.
> 
> 小羊 = Little sheep
> 
> 小龙 = Little dragon

The picture freezes on the screen and Yifan's voice, distorted by static, cracks in the middle of the sentence. Yixing frowns, calling his boyfriend’s name a few times. "Fanfan? Are you still there? Can you hear me?"

There's silence at first, then the frozen impression of Yifan's furrowed eyebrows on the screen starts moving again. Still, the quality of the call isn't good, Yifan's face pixelated and only changing expressions in quick bursts before freezing again; rinse and repeat. Yixing curses Skype before directing his irritation at his room's wifi instead.

He would go down to the hotel's lounge—the wifi there has proven reliable so far—but even though they do have a VIP section, he can't exactly have this video call while in public. Their relationship is a badly kept secret around all of the people they are close or regularly work with but nonetheless they try to not let the circle of people in the know spread further than is necessary. With all the filming crew and his co-stars staying in the same hotel, Yixing can't even count on the language barrier of using Mandarin in keeping his conversation private.

With a weary sigh, Yixing opens the chat.

_小羊: The picture is frozen :(_

_小龙: Same for me :(_

_小龙: Should I try calling you again?_

Yixing's fingers hover above the keyboard, about to type in that it's worth a try when a thought crosses his mind.

_小羊: I might have an idea. I'll call you back asap._

Right after hitting send, he picks up his laptop and moves from the couch to the desk situated in the far left corner. It's littered with his script and lyric drafts he's jotted down in a hurry so he won't forget them. A small exclaim of success escapes him when he finds the LAN cable he remembered seeing in the desk drawer.

As soon as he's plugged it in, he clicks the small video camera icon, the all-too-familiar dial tone resounding almost jarringly in his ears as he prays to see a clear cut version of his boyfriend once the call connects.

Yifan looks a cross between annoyed and worried, his strong eyebrows emphasising the expression of guarded apprehension. They've been through this game more times than Yixing can count, so part of him wonders why they still get annoyed at it. Or whether that's the precise reason why they are even more easily affected by stubborn technology.

"There you are," Yixing's voice instantly loses all traces of stress when he is no longer greeted by grainy shapes. He can't exactly make out every pore of his boyfriend's skin but he doesn't need the call to be any higher quality; being able to make out the lines of Yifan’s face clearly is enough to make his lips spread into a smile. In the small window to the right corner of the screen he can see how it makes his dimple press into his cheek.

Yifan's expression of annoyance immediately smooths out, the frown softening into a relieved grin. "Same back to you."

They've been having a lot of chances to skype lately, both their schedules running more or less in regular circles for the last few weeks. It allowed them to set a regular time for video calls. Even after so many years it is nothing but a weak substitute to see Yifan through a screen compared to having the real thing sit in front of him. However Yixing must admit that he likes knowing every morning when he wakes up that he’ll get to talk with the elder again that night.

"Guess what arrived today!" Yixing brightens up, now that the connection is stable.

It isn't really a difficult question, and Yifan's laughter tells Yixing as much when the younger jumps up to collect the package from the bed where it’s been lying since it came in that morning.

It has become a habit of his to never open Yifan's packages without the elder watching, unless he knows they won’t have a chance to skype anytime soon. Yifan has never explicitly said so, but Yixing knows that he enjoys watching the younger’s expression light up whenever he digs through the layers of clothes, pulling out sweatshirts or jackets and taking a fresh whiff of his boyfriend's scent for the first time in what is always too long.

The sight that greets Yixing as soon as he has managed to peel away the translucent package tape and open the lid is a dash of dusty pink. A smile spreads on his face immediately. He remembers the sweater from selfies Yifan sent him, even though it seems like forever ago. He pulls it out and buries his face in the fabric, inhaling deeply. In his ears Yifan's soft laughter resounds, and with his eyes closed Yixing can almost pretend the sound is right next to him rather than coming from the other side of the world.

"Should I put it on right away?" He asks once he resurfaces from the soft cotton, and it only takes one look at Yifan's gummy smile to know the answer.

The sleeves are too long for his arms, like they always tend to be with Yifan's clothes, even when they’re already on the short side for the elder's lanky built. But Yixing loves it, loves when his hands disappear in the **cuffs** and his torso drowns in the fabric that smells like Yifan.

"Better," he declares when he settles back in the desk chair, his own shirt carelessly discarded in the direction of the bed.

"Definitely," Yifan agrees, before urging Yixing to continue looking through the package.

The youngwr turns up with another sweatshirt and a jacket before a plain envelope catches his eye. Full of curiosity he takes it and holds it up for Yifan to see. The elder's mouth opens in a silent sound of recognition only to be replaced by an amused laugh.

Arching one eyebrow in question, Yixing opens the envelope. Opposite to his expectations, he finds neither a greeting card nor any pictures in it. Instead he's greeted by a triangular shape, and a very familiar face looking back at him.

"...what."

"It's a Cornetto wrapping."

"I can see that. But the question is, why the heck would you send me that?"

"Well, I wanted to send you the real thing because it's a pretty good ice cream. But sending ice cream doesn't work out very well. So I had to find another way to prove that I'm a supportive boyfriend buying the brands you endorse."

"You could have simply sent a selfie of you and the ice cream, you know? But you actually cut out, _washed_ and sent a cornetto wrapping with my face on it?"

"It seemed like a smart move at that time," Yifan admits sheepishly, and as stumped as Yixing is, he can't help but laugh.

"You're such an idiot."

Yifan doesn't even try arguing against it. It's a discussion he's lost one too many times already. They fall into a comfortable silence for a few heartbeats that's only disrupted when a yawn escapes Yixing.

A look of concern crosses Yifan's face as he glances at the corner of his laptop screen. "It's late already for you."

"Almost two," Yixing confirms with a silent hum. "How's settling in LA going?" he asks, not wanting to sleep just yet if it means having to stop talking with Yifan, uncaring of the fact that his alarm will ring before sunrise.

"It's going well. The furniture is in place, most of the formalities have been sorted. I'll have to give you a tour one of these days." A hint of melancholy sneaks into Yifan's eyes when he sighs, "I really wish I could bring you here to show you around in person."

And Yixing reciprocates, so much. It's already been difficult enough to sneak to Yifan's place in Beijing unseen, or to have Yifan come to his in Shanghai, but at least it's been possible since they both tend to have schedules in those cities.

"You should just employ some of your proven disguise skills, disappear from the public eye and hop over to America for a few days," Yifan jokes but the wistful tone in his voice makes it obvious that he wishes he could be serious. "I'll simply hide you away for as long as you're here."

A part of Yixing aches with desire to do exactly that, to throw on a mask, a big hoodie and sunglasses and to book the first flight that leaves for LA in the middle of the night. But their lifes are never as easy as that.

"One day," he replies instead, pulling the sweater closer around him in a cheap facsimile of Yifan's embrace. "One day we'll do that."

"One day," Yifan agrees.

The phrase has almost become a ritual between them, their silver lining. It might be a day in the very far future, or it might be unexpectedly soon. But they both firmly believe that one day, they’ll not have to forcibly avoid each other in public anymore, when it’ll all be water under the bridge. They just have to persevere until that one day comes.

“I mean,” Yifan speaks up, trying to lighten the mood a little as he pulls an all-too-familiar sheep plushie close. “He’s missing you too, you really should come visit him.”

At the mention of sheepheart, a grin finally spreads across Yifan's face again. No matter how much Yixing wishes he could be over there—or have Yifan here with him—seeing his gummy smile makes him feel lighter already.

"Of course I'll have to pay my son a visit. What father would I be if I didn't go see him at least once."

" _Your_ son?” Yifan asks, affront lacing his voice, “I thought from the moment I agreed to being his foster parent he became _our_ son."

It's easy to fall into playful banter with Yifan. It's so much easier than thinking about their situation. It's been years, and they have managed to last until now. It's not ideal, and new challenges keep on arising but they just keep growing with them. Yixing has always liked a good challenge, and Yifan isn't shy in facing one either.

And when Yixing eventually lies in bed an hour later, clad in one of Yifan's baggy shirts, just listening to Yifan's voice as the elder is on the phone with his manager to discuss his schedule, he falls asleep with a smile on his lips nonetheless.

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, in my imagination, Yifan sends Yixing care packages with clothes when they can't meet up personally in a while and in turn Yixing sends back packages with plushies.
> 
> Also in case anyone's curious, the original justification Yifan had for eating the cornetto ice cream was as follows:
> 
> Yifan: "It's almost as if I'm eating you but it doesn't taste as good"  
> Yixing (after a weary sigh): "It'll take me just one click and you're gone, you know."
> 
> But I deemed that too crack-y so it got cut in the end lol


End file.
